


The God that Grants No Forgiveness

by LancerCu



Category: Avengers (Comics), Thor (Comics)
Genre: Discussion of the U.S. Constitution, Gen, Therefore if the Discussion of the Constitution Sounds off it Must be My Bad!, Translation into English
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 16:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20067154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LancerCu/pseuds/LancerCu
Summary: Thor promised to seek justice for the daughter of a mortal man. Cap helped out.





	The God that Grants No Forgiveness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sjax001](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sjax001/gifts).

> This is the English translation of [ sjax001's](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sjax001) short story. 
> 
> Many **THANKS** to [ sjax001](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sjax001) for authorizing me to translate your work. The original is cleverly plotted and profoundly ironic. I just want more people to be able to read this breathtaking story.

One day, Thor felt thirsty while flying by a small town, so he landed on the town, went into a bar, and asked for a drink. This was when a middle-aged man came up to him and treated him to a tankard of mead. Thor was delighted, so he pointed at the mead and made a vow: in return for this man’s hospitality Thor would spare no effort to do him a favor. The middle-aged man said he wanted justice for his daughter.

Twelve years ago, the man’s daughter went missing in a music festival. Seven years into her disappearance the police recovered her hair and some belongings. People sighted her leaving the festival with three young men, who were once arrested but eventually released for lack of a body and sufficient evidence. The middle-aged man believed them to be the killers of his daughter. At the time, a drug made from the blood of mutants was prevalent, and one of the three suspects was an atrocious drug dealer. The drug largely boost strength but also made people extremely violent.

Human affairs were not Thor’s areas of expertise, but he did his best to investigate. Thor found that among the three suspects one committed suicide, another almost mentally broken due to a severe case of anorexia, but the drug dealer had been loose on the street under the protection of his family. Recently he was locked up for a misdemeanor. The man had been bragging about some Pacific island, a place for him to spend a carefree life once he was out. 

Thor pushed the anorexic suspect for the truth, but the latter just wouldn't talk. Thor by chance discovered that the man used to be a big fan of Captain America, so he asked Cap for help. The suspect broke down in front of his idol. He told Cap and Thor where the girl was brought. As for what happened next, he said his memory was blurred by intoxication. The man asked Cap if he could be forgiven. It occurred to Cap that the man actually remembered everything. It’s just that he lost the ability to tell the truth. Cap could not answer the question of this dying man. “Only the big guy already on his way to the crime scene can forgive this man." Cap thought, “only a god is capable of granting forgiveness.”

Cap and Thor were both surprised and furious to find the site turned into a reservoir, every piece of evidence that could have once existed buried beneath the water. They heard that the drug dealer’s family was behind the construction project, and that the man was about to be released. In the heat of the moment, Thor told Cap he would take unorthodox measures. Cap was worried Thor would resort to violence, but the big man laughed, reassuring Cap that he still trusted the law of men to be just.

With Thor’s guarantee, the DA re-prosecuted the drug dealer for murder. Thor submitted his evidence—he cast a Rune spell, summoned wood and water spirits near the crime scene, and extracted from their memories the details of that day. He showed the entire court how the girl was taken away from the music festival, raped, tortured, killed, and dismembered. The brutality of these acts overwhelmed everyone.

To ensure the authenticity of this piece of memory—which was preserved through magic—the court summoned more magic-using superhuman beings to testify. The case had now attracted national attention. As things escalated, Cap felt somewhat uneasy, yet more unnerving was the gloomy and angry look of Thor ever since he read the memory.

One month later, the court issued its decision, which shocked everyone.

According to the judge, the Constitution does not specify whether being human cognizable is a required element of due process. Therefore, a process that transcends human cognition might also be considered due process. The use of magic does not violate the principle of legitimacy in the Constitution. It accords with truth to establish _actus reus_ through magic.

However, is it appropriate to base the application of law on a specific actual truth?

In the context where the omniscient and omnipotent God is the one true God, other forms of divine power transcend human cognition. The Constitution protects the freedom of every U.S. citizen, including religious freedom and the right to maintain firm belief in religion. By admitting the existence of other forms of divine power, the jury exercised their freedom of choice on religious matters. However, the free choice of an individual shall not deprive of or undermine the religious freedom of others. As an institution dedicated to democratic freedom, the court shall protect the entirety of freedom. The court decision of this case, as a source of law, is binding to the whole body of the people. Nevertheless, the specific actual truth established in this case shall not affect the religious freedom outside the aforementioned context, otherwise the law would fail to protect the entirety of freedom. To conclude, it is not appropriate to base the application of law on the specific actual truth thereof.

In other words, the court had established the facts of murder, but to maintain the order of human society, it dismissed the case.

The decision sparked big controversy across the States, but before long many people including superhuman beings and superheroes sided with the decision. The drug dealer was almost boastful, for he committed an “unconvictable” crime. 

As the dealer was escorted back to the jail, Thor stopped the transport vehicle. He released an EMP that shut down all human facilities within a hundred mile. The affected area was no longer the territory of men, but the realm of gods. Where men made no conviction, the god granted no forgiveness. Engulfed in wrath, Thor wanted to personally bring the murderer to justice.

Cap made it to the site, dashed between Thor and the vehicle, and begged Thor to stop. Cap also had his doubts facing the court decision, for the religion he believed in was different from the one named after Thor, but this was not the key issue. Cap knew what mattered most: when the whole nation was closely watching, once Thor demonstrated in bloodshed that the law of gods preceded the institution of men, he would no longer be a welcomed guest of human society. Cap implored Thor to calm down, but Thor turned a deaf ear. They began a violent fight. Thor demanded Cap to step aside, but Cap clenched his teeth, determined not to let Thor had his way.

Just when the fight was about to veer out of control, a bang of gunshot mortified both of them. Turned out the middle-aged man posed as the driver. When the two were deadlocked, he calmly got off the vehicle, opened the door, and shot the murderer of his daughter with his own hands.

Later, Cap visited the detained man and was told the man had advanced cancer. Knowing his days were numbered, the middle-aged man planned to avenge his daughter. He no longer believed in the law of men. All he needed was an opportunity to find the truth and approach the murderer. This was an opportunity that only a god could give.

The man studied Norse religion. Following what was written in the literature, he slaughtered his daughter’s beloved dog and horse, and painted the altar and the room with their blood. He thus prayed to the only god that had manifested himself to the mortal world.

Then, on that particular day, hundreds of miles above the ground, Thor was flying by, and suddenly, he felt thirsty.

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my native language, so any comment on my wording would be much appreciated!


End file.
